Me and My Daughters

Confronting Coarse Companions

There was a saying in old Equestria regarding the influence of good food on one's mental state. One cannot think well, love well, or sleep well if one hasn't dined well. It's only mostly true, sadly, Celestia thought absentmindedly while helping Twilight and Luna pick up the dishes with her magic. She had volunteered to do so against Applejack's wishes, as it gave her plenty of time to think about her current situation. The food might have been delicious, yes. Still, that leaves us—well, me—in an extremely complex situation indeed.

"I'm carrying that bowl, Twilight! Leave it alone!" Luna's complaint pulled Celestia out of her introspection. The alicorn fillies were currently disputing the aforementioned bowl in their various teal and light purple auras. It's weird how quickly one can get used to this, Celestia pondered, not quite intervening in the little sisterly feud. Nonetheless, I'm still their mother... kind of. I should probably act the part.

Meanwhile, at her hooves, the argument continued. "You don't have any focus, you're gonna break it!" Twilight said, enveloping the bowl in her magic from its top as her aura snuffed out Luna's at the bottom.

Luna gasped loudly, fumbling with her own telekinesis as she tried and failed to get the dish back. "Nuh-uh! Give it back!"

"Twilight," Celestia called sternly, "give your sister a chance. I'm sure she can carry that on her own."

"B-but, it was gonna fall! I saw it, Mom!" Twilight whined, letting her aura fall as the bowl dropped lightly back onto the table.

"No it wasn't! Shut up, Twilight!" Luna cried, once again trying to grasp her cargo. As her aura slowly appeared underneath the bowl, it gradually moved along its edges until it reached the very top and enveloped it completely. Holding her focus as best she could, Luna trudged towards the kitchen as if she held the weight of the world on her horn.

Apparently, in this universe, even as an alicorn, Luna had immense trouble with even the simplest of spells, including levitation. However, despite her current lack of a cutie mark, Twilight still had a familiarity with magic that most fillies her age did not.

Her musing was cut short when Luna let out a fearful gasp. Her aura around the bowl had weakened to the point that the dish wobbled back and forth, before winking out completely. Luckily for the filly, Celestia's magic managed to catch the bowl before it hit the floor.

"See? She can't do it! I was only trying to help!" Twilight said with a triumphant grin at Luna's struggle.

"Twilight, everybody learns to use magic at their own pace. Luna is never going to learn if you don't let her practice," Celestia chastised, fixing the purple alicorn with a stern glare.

"Yeah, Twilight, not everyone can be an egghead like you. Plus, I keep on winning our magic duels," Luna said with a sneer.

Luna, it seemed, was a physical learner, content with learning through trial and error. But what kind of mother promotes magic duels between her daughters? The Celestia of this universe must have serious issues...

Twilight blushed immediately, fumbling for words. "Er... Well... Sh-shut up!"

"Eggheaaad!" Luna sang, sticking her tongue at the flustered alicorn.

Twilight huffed, turning her back at the annoying filly. "Well, at least I don't suck at magic!"

"You suck at everything!"

Celestia really didn't have the brainpower to deal with this right now. First Sunset's friends interrogating her, and now her daughters fighting over a simple bowl—things were not looking so well. "Luna! Twilight! Enough!" she yelled, levitating the fillies in her magic and placing them next to each other. "I will not tolerate this petty arguing. You two are sisters, and I expect you to act like it!"